Age-Appropriate Materials

How we fight

OPPOSE GOVERNENT OVERREACH - We stand together against government overreach and intimidation tactics.

We live in an era where activists claim victimhood and the cancel culture and woke agenda seem bent on the destruction of the culture of our melting pot, the United States of America.  Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulis championed legislation threatening the loss of funds for any public-school librarian who rejects books and media that are not age-appropriate for the students in their school.  Secretary Giannoulis is not alone, the federal government, national education associations, and activist groups demand sexually explicit books in school libraries.

"We must understand that schools are temporary custodians.  They do not have free reign.  Our parents do not cede their rights and responsibilities at the schoolhouse door." Megan Degenfelder, Superintendent, Wyoming Department of Education.

School districts may not overreach their mission.  Parents, not boards of education, have the right to decide when their children are ready for adult materials.

Why we fight

In 2023, the Illinois General Assembly passed HB2789, described by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulius as the Book Banning act. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulis has made it clear that funding from the State of Illinois will be denied unless school librarians stock the shelves with sexually explicit books and media or when school librarians restrict any books and media on the basis of age inappropriateness.

Secretary Giannoulis also testified at a US Congress hearing on sexually explicit schoolbooks.

We created this video to make people aware of the issue:

Book Banning Video

 

Fallacious LogicInsights

  • A book written by Corrie ten Boom in 1974 cautioned society not to ask our children to carry loads too heavy for them.
  • "How in the world did we get here?  How did we get from protecting our children to the argument of stop book banning?"  Lindsey Smith at the November 23, 2023 Congressional Education and Work Force hearing.
  • Pen America's standard for book banning is absurd, but it is nearly universally accepted. (Dr. Jonathon Friedman of Pen America explains the standard at 5:10 in the Book Banning video followed by an explanation of the absurdity by Max Eden of American Enterprise instute at 5:50.)
  • University of IllinoisThe University of Illinois's Undergraduate Library contains over 15,000,000 volumes.  Google estimates that over 130,000,000 English Language books have been printed.  By Pen America's definition, the U of I is banning 88% of the books printed.  Pen America's definition is absurd.
  • Illinois has about 900 Boards of Education for public schools.  The one-size-fits-all mentality from the Illinois State Board of Education is an affront to their authority.  School board policies need to reflect their community.
  • A layman's reading of the Illinois criminal statutes suggests that a person who provides obscene books to minors may be committing child pornography.
  • Introduced in New Jersey on January 29, 2024, Senate Bill S2421 shields librarians from child pornography laws: "Any staff member of a public library, including a librarian employed by a public library, shall be immune from criminal and civil liability arising from good faith actions performed pursuant to the provisions of section 11."  Will this be coming to Illinois soon?
  • HB2789 includes the text:  "(75 ILCS 10/3) Sec. 3 E … adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights that indicates materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval …"  This provision can be flipped from its original intent and can be used to add age-appropriate books in school libraries.

Joyful Warrior's Plan

Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County will petition school boards for redress regarding books or media that are not age-appropriate for minor children (1st Amendment). We are recruiting teams to monitor each school district and to represent the will of the parents at Board of Education meetings when appropriate. Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County strives to be an organization that parents trust to stand up for their rights.  

Additionally, we are distributing 917 Project's free pocket constitutions to 7th graders in Tazewell County.  Our Community Outreach team focuses on this effort.

In a weird way, the language in HB2789 that permits sexually explicit books also provides our chapter with the opportunity to increase the number of age-appropriate books in school libraries.  The national Moms for Liberty created Moms for Libraries.  Moms for Libraries works to place books that teach civics, history, and American values in school libraries to benefit present and future generations.  Our Community Outreach team focuses on this effort.

OPPOSE GOVERNENT OVERREACH - We stand together against government overreach and intimidation tactics.

References